Fr. Daniel, who born in 1974, was a married priest of the Russian Orthodox Church and rector of St. Thomas' church in southern Moscow. He was a noted missionary, especially among the Muslim, neo-Pagans, and Protestants communities of Russia. As the Orthodox Church in Russia has come around to the importance of missionary work in recent years, Fr. Daniel became known for his active missionary work, particularly among non-Orthodox, and also for his bright polemic performances. He had especially built a reputation as a priest who stood out for his proselytizing work among Russia’s Muslim community.

His initiatives included other non-Orthodox communities. Fr. Daniel was noted for promoting a number of cultural and religious initiatives among Chinese students in Russia. [1]

On November 19, 2009, he was killed in his church by a Muslim fanatic, who shot him four times.[2] During the last 19 years Fr. Daniil became the twenty fifth Orthodox priest murdered in Russia.

Later, in December 2009, a militant Islamic group based in the North Caucasus took credit for the murder of Fr. Daniel. According to a statement made by Russian Islamists and released on kavkazcentre.com:

"One of our brothers who has never been to the Caucasus took up the oath of (former independent Chechen president Doku Umarov) and expressed his desire to execute the damned Sysoyev"[3]